Kate Richardson-Walsh

As the most-capped female player in British history, Kate's illustrious sporting career has inspired many. Originally making her international debut in 1999, she would later go on to captain Team GB for 13 of her 17 years on the field. In addition to her GB honours, Kate captained England since 2003, leading them to win the 2015 European Championships and being awarded bronze and two silvers in three Commonwealth Games. Kate's career went from strength to strength as she was a key figure in leading Great Britain to their first gold medal in women's hockey at the 2016 Rio Olympics and making history by becoming one-half of the first same-sex married couple to win an Olympic medal playing in the same team, alongside her wife and teammate Helen Richardson.

On a more individual basis, Kate's honours include being awarded Team GB Hockey's Athlete of the Year, being shortlisted for the FIH World Player of the Year and winning the Hockey Writers’ Player of the Year award twice. To top it all though, Kate was nominated for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award in 2016 and awarded an OBE in 2017. 

Since retiring from international hockey following the 2016 Olympics, Kate has continued to play domestic hockey for a range of teams including Bloemendaal in North Holland.

Drawing inspiration from her sporting career, Kate is a popular inspirational speaker for both the corporate and educational world. She regularly visits schools to encourage grassroots development of the game as well as delivering speeches at corporate events to provide businesses of all levels insights into the sporting world and to assist in developing leadership and communication techniques in the workplace.